


A Piece of Paper

by Apparentlynotreallyfinnish



Series: Prompted ficlets [1]
Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Ficlet, Fluff, M/M, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-03-01 11:21:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18799342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Apparentlynotreallyfinnish/pseuds/Apparentlynotreallyfinnish
Summary: Part of a series of prompted ficlets. Prompt:  Link finds a piece of paper he isn't supposed to see.





	A Piece of Paper

“It’s on my desk. Can you pick it up?” Rhett’s voice disappeared into the hallway as he strode towards the meeting room. Link sighed, stopped at the door and turned back. He walked to Rhett’s desk and frowned at the mess. There were books and papers strewn about and, for some reason, a half-eaten taco. When did they even have tacos for lunch?! Link’s fingers itched with the need to organize but he knew better. He just settled for picking up a promising-looking pile of papers in search of the missing documents. A piece of paper fell from the pile and with a swirl floated under the table.

Link huffed annoyed and slammed the papers back on the desk. He crouched and tried to reach for the runaway. It was too far back, and Link resigned for the fact that he had to get on all fours to crawl under the table. Finally, Link managed to grab the offending slip of paper. He turned it over in his hand and skimmed it. His heart jumped to his throat and his head jerked up. His head banged hard on the bottom of the table and a loud curse fell from his lips.

Link crawled from under the table and sat down on the floor rubbing his now throbbing head. His heart was still hammering on, partly because of the sudden pain, partly because of what he’d just read. Link stared at the paper. There was a passage written and printed. Something for their book, a scene they had been trying out. The printed text had been crossed out. They had decided it didn’t work with the story. That wasn’t the part that had made Link give himself a concussion though. Under the scene, someone had written with a pen:

_Rhett James Neal_

The name was written over and over again, filling the bottom part of the paper. It was written in Rhett’s handwriting. Link stared at the scribbles, heat rising to his cheeks. Just seeing Rhett’s name paired with his made his stomach churn and his hands tremble. Link bit his lip and tried to steady his breathing. What had Rhett been thinking when he wrote this? Maybe it was nothing, just a stupid whim. Maybe it was a joke. It had to be a joke. Link let out an awkward laugh, trying to make himself believe that the paper meant nothing.

But there had been developments recently that made it hard for Link to convince himself. Years of buried feelings had been surfacing in him and there had been a moment or two when he’d suspected that Rhett might be struggling with the same thing. There had been looks. Heart eyes, they apparently called them in the fandom. Link had scoffed at the word. Forty-year-old men didn’t give each other heart eyes. But he’d seen the tapes; seen the gifs. They spoke of something bubbling under the surface of friendship. Link just wasn’t sure if either of them was ready for it.

“Link!” Stevie’s voice brought Link back to reality.

“Oh, hey. Sorry. Just looking for the documents,” Link muttered, feeling like he’d been caught red-handed. 

“From the floor?” Stevie laughed and walked up to him. Link folded the evidence and stuck it in his pocket.

“I…um…fell.”

“You okay?” Stevie looked genuinely concerned and Link felt bad for lying.

“I’m fine. I just have to find those papers.”

Stevie sighed, picked up a stack of papers from the printer and waved them at Link.

“Oh, right. Good. Are they here already?” Link asked.

“Yeah. Everyone is waiting.”

“Okay. I’ll be right there.”

“We really need to go.” Stevie frowned.

“I know. Just a second. I promise.”

“Fine. Better be an actual second,” Stevie warned. Link nodded and motioned for Stevie to go. She went and Link turned to the table. He found a stray pen and took the paper from his pocket.

Everyone was already in the meeting room. After Link had greeted the guests, he sat down next to Rhett and slipped the paper to him. Stevie was talking, already diving into the finer points of the agreement. Rhett looked at the folded paper and then at Link. Link hid his trembling hands onto his lap and refused to turn his face to Rhett. From the corner of his eye, he watched as Rhett carefully unfolded the paper. There was a small gasp that felt like a gut punch. Link chewed on his lip and waited for some kind of an answer. Why did I do this? He kept thinking. This was a stupid idea. I’ve been imagining everything. It was just a joke. His thoughts were spiraling.

Then there was a movement under the table. Rhett slipped his hand under Link’s palm and intertwined their fingers. Heat flushed Link’s chest and he felt like gasping for air. The press of Rhett’s hand was sweaty and shaky. It was the best goddamn thing Link had ever felt. On the table, the paper laid open with new words written over Rhett’s scribbles. In Link’s shaky handwriting, it read:

_Charles Lincoln McLaughlin_

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt given by the the king of fic: its_mike_kapufty. You are my inspiration, always. <3


End file.
